Did the Bulls just make a big mistake by not extending Coby White?

As the seventh pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Coby White has by all accounts failed to live up to the perhaps overzealous expectations placed on his shoulders by fans. Averaging a respectable 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in three seasons for the Chicago Bulls, Coby has become a very solid player in the league — if not the franchise transformative player the Bulls needed.

Even if Coby isn’t exactly a perfect fit for this roster, he’s still had a very productive three seasons in Chicago and will certainly attract the attention of suitors in need of shooting during free agency. This is why the front office’s decision to not re-sign the former Tar Heels stand out so striking. White is now set to become a restricted free agent upon conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

When you look around the league and see all of the team-friendly contracts that were just signed, it’s difficult ignoring the fact that the Bulls could have reached a mutually beneficial agreement with White as well. It’s almost a certainty that Coby will receive a larger offer on the open market than he would have been willing to accept from the Bulls right now.

For instance, Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter ($95 million) and Memphis’ Brandon Clarke ($52 million) were just locked up for the next four years after being vital pieces to their team in postseason play. Portland got an amazing deal by extending Nassir Little to a $28 million contract, while even Houston re-upped Kevin Porter Jr. to an extremely team-friendly deal where only the first year’s cap hit is fully guaranteed.

Now that the rookie scale extension deadline is behind us, the time for the Chicago Bulls to secure Coby White’s future has passed. Was this a mistake?

Coby certainly isn’t alone in his current situation, as several other talented fourth-year players also did not receive a rookie scale extension and are set to enter restricted free agency. Phoenix’s Cam Johnson, Boston’s Grant Williams, and Charlotte’s P.J. Washington are all highly valued by their team, but will ultimately be left to have the market decide their value.

This point is particularly important, as not extending Coby does not mean the Bulls are giving up on him entirely. Like Johnson, Williams, and Washington, all this means is that Chicago is still in the process of evaluating Coby’s true worth — and what better test is there of a player’s value than their performance during a contract year?

So while I do think there was value to be extracted in an early rookie extension, I think keeping Chicago’s options open at both the trade deadline this season and in free agency next summer was ultimately the right call. If it’s any reassurance, Bulls beat reporter K.C. Johnson suggests that this has been Chicago’s plan all along, so I highly doubt Coby has been blindsided and with this news.

White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Nikola Vucevic are all set to have a very decisive season in regard to their contract value, so treading carefully and keeping their cards close to their chest is undoubtedly the best course of action for the front office.

In the end, exercising patience on Coby White’s future was not a mistake by the Chicago Bulls. Now, all we can do is hope he plays so well that we’ve all changed our minds on this subject a year from now.